My Priorities
- Constructing cost-effective prefabricated modular housing at scale on public land across the City and County to provide housing for those on our streets. We can do this by tapping into existing County and State funds, using our Measure E funds wisely, and securing local philanthropic dollars. We can and must address homelessness for less than $850,000 per door.
- Advocating to the County to expand mental health and addiction treatment with an emphasis on hard-to-address cases that may require involuntary support. This includes implementing the recommendations of the Laura’s Law Advisory Committee. It is not humane, safe or cost-effective to allow severely addicted and mentally ill people to live and die on our streets.
- Investing in job training, job placement and local organizations that provide pathways to employment and financial self-sufficiency, especially in relation to the Clean San Jose initiative to put 100 unhoused individuals to work beautifying the City’s illegal dumping and blight hot spots.
- Preventing displacement and eviction by implementing the city’s anti-displacement strategy and leveraging state and federal dollars for rental assistance through the City’s Emergency Rental Assistance Program.
Policy Accomplishments
Compassionate San Jose - Bold Housing Solutions
- On Wednesday September 29, 2021, I co-authored a memorandum to the Rules & Open Government Council Subcommittee that was approved, requesting the City Manager:
- Have 1,000 pandemic-era emergency interim housing community (EIHC) units and 300 Project Homekey motel units under construction or completed by December 2022.
- Report on the progress of housing 1,500 San Jose residents by December 31, 2022 and providing a total of 2,300 new permanent and transitional units serving homeless individuals that will be under development or construction by December 31, 2022.
- To Continue to partner with Councilmember Jimenez to temporarily locate a “safe parking” RV site at or near the future police training facility in District 2.
- Facilitate the implementation of drug treatment options.
- Work with the County on all of the above.
Clean San Jose
- On September 29, 2021, I co-authored a memorandum to the Rules & Open Government Council Subcommittee that was approved, directing the City Manager to:
- Expand employment opportunities for 100 unhoused individuals in cleaning and beautifying the City in high-need neighborhoods that have litter hotspots.
- Report to the Council by November 2021 introduction of a monetary award for information resulting in the successful citation of illegal dumping, an update on the deployment of cameras at illegal dumping hotspots and an update on abandoned vehicle abatement efforts.
Housing Crisis Workplan (Adding Metrics)
- On August 9, 2021, I sponsored a memorandum to the City Council that was approved to direct the City Manager to ensure that the next Housing Crisis Workplan report include:
- A metrics-based estimate of potential impact for each strategy prioritized within the workplan;
- An ongoing assessment of actual impact in terms of the identified metric(s) for each completed strategy; and
- Discussion of the overall prioritization of strategies based on estimated impact and learnings from recent implementation of the workplan.
City Roadmap Priority Nomination No. NP10 - Encampment Management Strategy
- On February 24, 2021, I sponsored a memorandum for the Council Prioritization process that was ranked #1 by my Council colleagues to explore a comprehensive encampment management strategy for the City, including improving the on-ground conditions for unhoused residents living in encampments as well as creating setback requirements to improve the protection of and access to sensitive public spaces and community institutions such as schools, creeks, and trails.
GIS Mapping of Caltrans Sites for Emergency Interim Housing
- On January 27, 2021, I brought forth a memorandum to the Rules & Open Government Council Subcommittee that was approved, requesting the City Manager:
- Conduct a citywide GIS analysis of all vacant properties in San Jose owned by Caltrans that are at least 1 acre in size where short-term emergency housing may be feasible;
- Present the findings of the analysis to the City Council no later than Spring 2021 and seek further Council direction at that time.
- View the resulting map here